Our Research Incentive design to promote long-term adoption of sustainable practices by smallholder farmers in India
Yanchong (Karen) Zheng engages in discussions with stakeholders in the field.
The researchers continue discussions with stakeholders in the field.
Yanchong (Karen) Zheng engages in discussions with stakeholders in the field.
The researchers continue discussions with stakeholders in the field.
Principal Investigator
Y. Karen Zheng
- George M. Bunker Professor
- Associate Professor of Operations Management
- Sloan School of Management
Yanchong (Karen) Zheng is the George M. Bunker Professor and an Associate Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her recent research focuses on two general topics: (I) the design of incentives, technologies, and behavioral interventions to enhance efficiency, welfare, and sustainability in food and agriculture systems, with a focus on smallholder supply chains; and (II) the role of information transparency in driving environmentally and socially responsible behaviors. In her research, Zheng employs a behavior-centric, data-driven, field-based approach, and she collaborates with both public and private partners on the ground to create positive impacts to society.
Challenge:
How can we design effective and practical incentive systems to motivate widespread, permanent adoption of sustainable practices by smallholder farmers?
Research Strategy
- Develop effective and scalable incentive systems and the related verification mechanisms to enable permanent adoption of desirable sustainable practices by smallholder farmers
- Utilize field-based simulation experiments and randomized controlled field trials to provide evidence-based policy recommendations in innovative funding mechanisms for supporting widespread, permanent adoption of sustainable agriculture
- Collaborate with field partners to implement effective incentive systems in the local communities and perform rigorous impact assessment of the implementation
Project description
This project aims to develop innovative incentive mechanisms to enable widespread, permanent adoption of sustainable practices by smallholder farmers. The team will examine the effectiveness of two different incentives: a fixed reward prevalently used in payments for ecosystem services programs and carbon offsetting projects; and a supply-dependent mechanism where sustainable farmers receive a premium per unit supply plus a fixed bonus. The researchers will examine the efficacy of these incentives in randomized controlled field trials with smallholder farmers in India.
The one-year scoping study will focus on identifying a specific sustainable practice and geographical region as well as building the necessary groundwork for the field trials. Specifically, the team will engage in discussions with various stakeholders including officials, private-sector players, and local communities to select the target region and practice. A simulation experiment will be designed and conducted with representative samples of farmers in the target region to obtain proof of concept regarding the efficacy of the different incentives. Results from the experiment will also inform how the incentives may be adapted to suit local conditions to further enhance efficacy. Eventually, the researchers aim to have a fine-tuned design of the field trials to be pursued in the next phase of the project.
Additional Details
Impact Areas
- Food
- Climate & Sustainability
Research Themes
- Sustainability & Adaptation
- Economics, Policy, & Practices
- Modeling & Data Analytics
- Equity & Access
Year Funded
- 2025
Grant Type
- India Grant
Status
- Ongoing